In the Closet
by littlemissstu
Summary: In a shady part of Detroit, Reid encounters a woman who isn't what she appears to be. PLEASE REVIEW (btw, fixed the first chapter. It should make sense now.)
1. Chapter 1

**** I'm so sorry, I have to upload everything on my Ipad and it messed everything up. Hopefully it's fixed!

"Keep staring at the ground. Don't look up, don't stop for anything. Just look down, keep your hands in your pockets. Am I still breathing? Nope. Okay just calm down and take a deep breath..." Reid followed his own orders and exhaled, suddenly becoming aware that he had been holding his breath for at least 30 seconds.

"31.4 seconds."His mind corrected him. Reid felt a prick of irritation. Was he that annoying in real life? He kept walking as the thugs on the street stared at him. All he had to do was get back to the car. It was only a block away, he was so close.

He knew he shouldn't have gone off without Morgan. What was he thinking? How could he ever think he could survive in the slums of Detroit by himself? Maybe it was to prove to his team and himself that he didn't need protecting.

He could really go for it right now.

There was yelling in the distance. A woman. The voice got closer as Reid walked faster, and he eventually was close enough to realize she was crying. Despite his best interest, he wasn't armed, and was certainly in no condition to be on a rescue. The woman started begging; it sounded like a robbery.

"How can you walk away from this? She might die!" His mind yelled. Reid stopped; he hadn't thought of that. He was still a ways behind where the woman's cries were coming from, and he sped up, breaking his rule by looking up and around him.

He was too preoccupied looking into alleyways to notice the figure sprinting toward him. He managed to catch her just before she fell to the ground as she ran into him. Her clothes were ripped and her cheeks were stained with tears, but she was very beautiful.

She also had really big boobs, Reid was slightly embarrassed to notice. Her shirt was ripped in such away as to give him an unobstructed view, which he promptly avoided.

"Let me go, he's going to come back!" She yelled, fighting as Reid held her wrists.

"Who?" He asked, still holding her. She looked up at him and narrowed her eyes.

"I have no idea," she said as if it was the obvious answer, "Does it matter?"

"Yes, it does," Reid said matter-of-factly, "Knowing who he is and what he looks like could really help us find him. I mean, if you don't know then you can tell me how he acted. That's actually my job, I'm-"

He was cut off as his skull was bashed in by someone behind him. The woman stood and rubbed her wrists as she smiled and took in the unconscious man at her feet..

"Dr. Spencer Reid, profiler for the BAU," the woman finished his sentence, "At last we meet."


	2. Chapter 2

"Pick him up, CJ. We need to get him back before anyone sees us." The woman commanded. The man, CJ, gave her back her gun that he used to whip Reid with and picked him up, carrying him to his car. The woman tucked the gun away before following him.

Once they were in the car and Reid was safely tied up, gagged, and locked in the trunk, CJ started the car.

"I don't understand why you get to have all the fun," CJ pouted. The woman laughed.

"Come on, CJ, you know he's not into that."

"You don't know that, Steph. I could turn him!" CJ exclaimed defensively. Steph nodded and patted his arm.

"I'm sure you could, but he's for Shania, remember?"

CJ nodded, "Yeah, true. Besides, I'm more into a guy with muscle."

Steph smiled, "You and me both."

They pulled up in front of the house and CJ unbuckled his seat belt quickly, practically sprinting for the trunk. Steph remained more calm and looked around as she walked, making sure nobody was watching. She threw CJ a blanket to hide a Reid under as he carried him over his shoulder to the house.

"Where do we keep him?" CJ asked, slightly out of breath.

"The basement. We don't want him making too much noise, the neighbors might get worried." Steph answered and unlocked the front door.

Reid started to wake, but he kept his eyes shut. He wasn't exactly comfortable, but he was warm and his head hurt. As he went to lick his dry lips, he tasted fabric and sat up with a jerk, suddenly realizing his hands were tied behind his back.

He took a minute to assess the room. It didn't look anything like he expected it to; he was expecting a room like something out of a bad horror movie, with chains and skulls.

Instead it was cozy, with pale beige carpet and wallpaper. There were stairs on the other end of the room, and a couch on the wall in additon to the one he was sitting on of matching color. If he wasn't bound and gagged he might have thought he had spent the night at a friend's house.

Not your everyday psycopath's holding cell.

He wandered up to the stairs and examined it, deciding it couldn't hurt to try the obvious. He jiggled the door handle and with an impatient huff confirmed it was locked. He then went back to the couch to look for something to unlock his handcuffs with and racked his brains for a way out.

"Don't waste your time, Dr. Reid. There's no Bobby pins or anything." A voice said behind him. Reid spun around to face Steph and examined her. Her clothes were changed and her hair was brushed, so she was obviously not a victim.

But it couldn't have been her who hit him; she was standing right in front of him the whole time! Maybe the unsub was dressing her up to fit a fantasy? No, she looked entirely too comfortable. So a team? One to distract the victim and the other to take them out. Yes, that's it, but why was he in such a cozy space if he was their prisoner?

Steph said nothing for a few seconds while he thought it all through before stepping closer and taking off his gag. He opened his mouth, no doubt about to ask questions at a thousand miles a minute, and she put a finger over his lips.

"Don't worry, your questions will be answered in a minute. What I really want to know," she took her finger away from his lips and pulled him closer by his tie, "Is what you were doing all by yourself out there on the street,"

Reid gulped. Why did this woman make him so nervous? "I was working a case and my friend- I mean collegue- told me to go in one direction to look for our unsub-Unknown Subject- and he would go in the other."

"And who is this colleague of yours? What's his name?" She purred, her lips centimeters from his. Reid felt his heart racing and answered her without thinking.

"Derek Morgan. He's one of my best friends." He said proudly, and then became suspicious, "Why?"

"Oh, never you mind, " she said, smiling.

Reid tried to shake off his nerves unsuccessfully, "He's going to come look for me." He reminded her shakily.

Steph laughed, "Exactly." And with that she let go of his tie and strode away.

Reid's heart dropped. He fell back on the couch in disbelief, ignoring the pain that shot through his arms when he sat on his wrists.

Morgan. His best friend. Had Reid just condemned him to death? Would he be captured as well? Somehow, Reid had the feeling that his own capture wasn't the main goal.

He started yelling as loud as he could; he had to get out of here before Morgan could come looking. He had to warn him somehow.


	3. Chapter 3

The team jumped as Morgan punched the box off the table in a fit of rage. If there was one thing the team knew, it was not to mess with him while he was this upset.

And if there was one thing Gideon knew, it was that he couldn't allow it.

"Morgan! In my office. Now." He commanded calmly but authoritatively. Morgan felt like telling Gideon EXACTLY why he didn't want to come to his office, but he held his tongue and followed reluctantly.

When the door closed, Gideon faced him, scrutinizing him. Morgan hated that, constantly being profiled. Why couldn't he just be mad and nothing else, nothing deeper? Why wasn't it enough that his best friend was kidnapped right under his nose and he was feeling guilty? That he wanted to snap the neck of the guy who kidnapped Reid?

Morgan sat down in the chair across from Gideon's and put his head in his hands, choosing to look away before he worked himself up too much and was relieved of duty. Gideon sat down and leaned back in his chair, waiting.

"It was my fault, Gideon." Morgan said at last, "I never should have let him go off by himself. He hasn't even passed his gun qualification test! It was almost inevitable that something like this would happen."

"Reid is a big boy, he doesn't need to be mothered. He went into this job knowing the dangers." Gideon said, staring at a corner of his desk as he spoke and looking up when he finished, judging Morgan's reaction. As usual, Gideon was right, and Morgan knew it. The hell if he was going to tell him that, though.

When Morgan didn't respond, Gideon stood.

"Look, I can't have you punching boxes every time we talk about Reid. If we're going to find him, you need to pull yourself together, " Gideon said earnestly, "If you can't do that, then I can take you off this-"

"No." Morgan cut him off and stood up, "I'm going to find him, no matter what the cost."

Gideon nodded and patted him on the back, "Then let's go."

"Can we please just kill him?" CJ asked, his head pounding and his fingers hurting from clutching his gun too hard.

"No, we spent all this time and planning getting him here. We're not backing out now." Steph said, looking worse now than yesterday.

Reid had been alternating between yelling and banging against the walls for the past 12 hours. She had tried to get CJ just to scare him into stopping and not hurt him, but it was looking like they had no choice. They had locked him in a closet as well as gagged him with little effect, and he found a way to get it off.

CJ took some Advil and dry swallowed it, cocking his gun as he stormed to the basement door.

"Not the face! " Steph called after him. CJ waved to show he'd heard her and opened the door with a loud bang.

The screaming became quieter while CJ stomped down the stairs; Reid obviously heard him coming down. CJ opened the closet door the same way as the basement door and picked Reid up by the shirt. He slammed him against the wall and held his gun to his stomach. The screaming stopped immediatly.

"The only reason you're still alive is because I respect Steph too much." He growled, "But that respect only goes so far, so I swear to God that if you don't shut up-right now-you will be dead on that floor, " he pointed to a spot on the carpet inside the closet, "And believe me when I say it will not be quick. Got it?"

Reid nodded quickly. CJ rammed the gun into his gut and forced Reid back into the closet. Reid fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for air as tears filled his eyes. He was pretty sure he had cracked a rib.

Well, yelling was out. Reid fiddled with his handcuffs again when he caught his breath again. How kinkey to own a pair; he didn't even want to think of what they were used for before he got here. He was a little surprised that they weren't fuzzy.

He realized his vision was a little more blurry than usual after the tears cleared. He looked down and found that his glasses were busted on the floor, and that the frame would be the perfect instrument for picking a lock...

He scooted around and grabbed his glasses, accidentally cutting his palm on the glass. He grimaced but broke off the ear pieces anyway. He began picking the lock, wincing as he squeezed the broken glass a little more into his palm.

He jumped and dropped the ear piece when he heard the door open, less forceful than before. The footsteps sounded too light to be CJ's, and Reid quickly shoved the earpieces into a space between the carpet and the wall.

The door opened just as he positioned himself over the pieces, leaning against the wall. Steph dropped off his food next to him and Reid suddenly got an idea. People had always told him he looked good without glasses, but he never believed them. Maybe this woman was one of those people.

It would be nice to get the key instead of picking locks.

He stood as she turned to leave, still leaning against the wall.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked calmly. Steph turned around.

"Excuse me?"

"You just don't seem like the kind of person to be in this line of business."

Steph smiled, "Oh, Dr. Reid, you charmer you."

Reid smiled and Steph put a hand on his cheek, "But you're not charming your way out of here. I have a deadline to meet."

She kissed his cheek and closed the door, leaving Reid in the dark once more. He slid to the floor and got back to work, his mind racing.

Morgan was starting to think the whole world was heartless.

He had asked damn near everyone on that street about what they saw. He got a very good description of Reid, so good that he might have been a celebrity. A white boy, long brown hair, tucked in striped shirt and tie, khakies, glasses.

Nobody had seen anyone with him, following him, nothing. Morgan looked at his picture of Reid sadly.

"Excuse me, sir?" Someone said. Morgan looked up to see a woman who certainly didn't look like she belonged. She was well dressed and clean, with long red hair that reached her waist in ringlets. Her style had hints of goth in it, but it looked more natural than most. She reminded him of Garcia, a fact that made Morgan like and trust her already.

"SSA Derek Morgan." He said, extending his hand.

"Shania," the woman said, taking his hand.


	4. Chapter 4

"She ran toward him but she was looking behind her and crashed into him. They started talking for a little bit and some guy came up behind him and clocked him over the head with his gun." Shania explained.

"What did he look like?" Morgan asked as the detective next to him took notes.

"Tall, blonde I think. Muscular. I didn't see his face; it was getting dark and you see people getting jumped on a daily basis here. I left before some thug got an idea of his own."

"Thank you," Morgan said, shaking her hand.

"No problem, glad I could help." She stated and turned to leave, but stopped and turned to him again.

"This colleague of yours; he means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

Morgan looked up, slightly shocked, "Yes, he's one of my best friends."

Shania nodded and squeezed his shoulder, "Look, maybe I can pull some strings and find out more about these people. I'll call you if I find anything."

"Thank you," Morgan said gratefully. She smiled and walked away, leaving Morgan with a little more hope.

Shania pulled out her phone and repositioned her gun inside her purse so it was more visable. The phone rang twice before she answered with no greeting.

"Is he there?" She asked.

"I'm looking right at him. Do you want me to go for it?" A man's voice said.

"No, Tony, you dumbass. Wait until I get there!"

"Jesus, fine. Hurry up though, he's getting antsy."

"I'm outside the door. See you in a minute."

She hung up and put her phone back in her purse as she pulled open the door to the bar, checking herself in the glass before going inside.

There was no need for scoping out her "client" as he promptly stood up at his chair when he saw her. She walked over slowly and caught eyes with Tony before sitting down at the table.

"Agent Ron Taylor, so happy you could come."

"Where are my kids?" He asked, trying to be tough but his voice quivering noticeably. Shania smiled.

"All in good time, Agent. First, there's something you're going to do for me."

Taylor watched as she rummaged through her purse, noticing the gun and instantly regretting leaving his behind at the prompting of the note he received. He knew it would have been useless to bring it anyway, because Tony had searched him when he walked in.

And not to mention the fact he was in a mobster-owned bar with the organization's boss sitting right in front of him.

Shania pulled out a picture of Morgan and showed it to the agent. Taylor took the picture and looked at it closely.

"Who is this? What does he have to do with anything?"

Shania's smile hardened a little, "As I said, all in good time, Agent. Don't make me tell you again."

Taylor gulped and nodded. Shania continued.

"The FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit were called into a case when one of their agents went missing a few days ago. You're going to replace him and, more importantly, keep leading that man," she pointed to the picture in Taylor's hands, "Derek Morgan, to me for information. Once Morgan, ah, disappears, you're going to lead the case in the wrong direction and eventually let it run cold, sending the BAU home, and resigning from the position."

"And what happens if I refuse?" He asked.

Shania laughed and Taylor heard a gun cock somewhere behind him, "Well, I think you know the answer to that. Just like you know the consequences for bringing your partner in here as back-up."

Shania nodded to Tony, who put a gun to the undercover cop sitting at another table's head.

"No, please, don't hurt my kids." Taylor sobbed. Shania wrinkled her nose in disgust, her smile completely gone.

"I still need you, Agent. Which means I still need something to threaten you with. Your kids will live."

The agent cried harder, now with gratitude instead of fear.

"As for your partner, he's not so lucky, " Shania said as she raised her purse to shield her face just as blood came flying, soaking Taylor and the booth next to them.

Taylor immediately stopped crying and looked over to find Tony standing over his dead partner. Tony pocketed his gun and grabbed the agent by the back of the shirt, leading him out of the bar.

"2 more strikes, Agent Taylor, and your kids will look like that." Shania called as she examined the blood on her purse, "Damn it, Tony. This purse is brand new!"


	5. Chapter 5

***For those of you that read the last chapter before I changed it, I just wanted to let you know that it is no longer Captain Taylor taking over the case, its Agent Ron Taylor replacing Reid. Other than that, enjoy! (Oh, and since my computer crashed I've had to upload it in a weird format that won't allow for page breaks. Sorry about that, it's Pissing me off, too. :/

Morgan didn't like the new guy for two very good reasons:

One, he was brought in under very suspicious circumstances; showing up with the official papers signed by a superior who had been suspected of being a double agent for years now.

And two, Taylor joining the team hinted the very strong possibility that Reid was dead.

Either way, Morgan was determined to find Reid and get the new guy out of his hair. Well, what was left of it.

He always stared at him! He would look away quickly when they cauht eyes, but Morgan constantly felt watched. Did he know what they would do to people like that back in Chicago?

No, probably not. And as far as Morgan was concerned, neither did he. Not anymore, anyway. That was just a "bump in the road," as his mom used to say. He was here now, and that's all that mattered.

Exactly, and if he wasn't here now Reid wouldn't have gotten captured.

There it was, that guilt again. As annoying as it was, he felt a sort of need for its presence. Like he would become vain and heartless if he didn't blame himself and started blaming others. And, as much as he hated to admit it, he WOULD blame others. Hell, he had a whole list of people to blame, but his name was at the top.

And he hoped that never changed.

Morgan suddenly became aware that he had scratched his paper through to the other side from writing too hard, "Damn it," he cursed and crumpled it up before grabbing another, mumbling to himself the whole time.

Reid had just heard the click of the lock on his handcuffs when the door opened and Steph dropped food down next to him. He realized that he must've been working for at least 5 hours if she was bringing food again.

She looked down on him, almost as if she knew exactly what he was doing. He was starting to think there wasn't much this woman didn't know. She pursed her lips and looked around the closet.

"Well, I would offer you a bigger space, but I have strict orders." She said, and looked back at him. He stayed sitting; he couldn't chance her finding out if she didn't already know.

"From who?" He asked curiously. He figured he could try and talk his way out of here, but something about this woman made him feel...bad about using her like this. She didn't seem scared of whoever was giving her orders, but it seemed like she respected and cared about them a lot, and would hate to disappoint.

"My boss." She said shortly.

"You don't seem to talk about them like they're your boss." He prompted. She shrugged.

"We go way back. Been best friends since high school." She said and crossed her arms as she leaned against the doorway, almost like she knew the conversation wouldn't end soon.

"You have a lot of respect for them, don't you?" He asked. She nodded, narrowing her eyes. Reid squirmed a little under her stare.

"What's the deadline?" He asked after a few seconds. Steph raised her eyebrows slightly, but otherwise showed no sign of confusion.

"For what?"

"You said earlier that you had a deadline to meet. When is it?"

"December 22nd." She answered. Reid nodded and looked at her feet when he spoke.

"Your short answers show that you're trying to distance yourself from the victim. This sudden change usually means I insulted you in some way and you're preparing to kill me or that you were ordered not to become more attached than you already are. Curious," he looked up at her, "Since you haven't shown any remorse, it makes me think that it was option 2."

Steph smiled sadly, "Not necessarily, Dr. Reid."

"The fact that you keep calling me that and have since the beginning means that you've been trying to distance yourself but haven't been able to until now. You're trying to treat it as just business but its more for you than that, isn't it?" He continued.

Steph sighed, "You're wrong."

"Oh?"

She slid to the floor and rested a cheek on her hand, avoiding his eyes. "I'm starting to think twice about this business. But you know how it is; nobody gets out alive." She laughed darkly, and Reid could swear that he saw tears in her eyes, "My boss knows it, too. She knows how I've felt for a while now. That's why the deadline is the 22nd; its halfway between our birthdays. She's hoping to get me a present to change my mind, in exchange for something, of course." She shook her head, "I'm not sure if it will be worth it."

Reid was shocked; he hadn't considered the fact that she was just a normal person in a bad situation, one that she wished she could get out of. Her boss was the real unsub, and she was merely a victim of circumstance. He felt a sort of connection with her, knowing she didn't exactly want to kidnap him, but that it was either that or death.

Reid put a newly freed hand on her shoulder without thinking, trying to comfort her. "It's not too late." He told her. Her eyes widened when she looked at his hand on her shoulder, and he quickly retracted it back.

"You..." she sputtered, "How did you...where...what?!"

He scrambled for an explaination as she stepped away from the threshold, "CJ!" She yelled and looked back at him, "I'm sorry, Doc- Spencer." She said and let a tear fall before she slammed the closet door. Reid scrambled to refasten the handcuffs as he heard CJ bound down the stairs and felt his heart drop as he watch the handle turn.

Steph got on the phone, wiping her tears and steadying her voice before Shania answered.

"He got out of the handcuffs. CJ's taking care of it, but I'm not sure how much longer I can hold him here."

"Well, you're going to have to find some way. I'm nowhere near ready."

Steph pinched the bridge of her nose and hung up, walking back down the stairs.

She was suddenly grateful for how quietly she could walk, because when she saw CJ connected at the lips of a very scared and confused Reid, she could text Shania without him noticing.

"CJ is kissing him." She texted. She didn't have to wait 5 seconds for her 2 word response.

"Kill him."


End file.
